The Towanda Center closes at 1 p.m. on Tuesday, March 3. The Lake Region Center and School of Petroleum & Natural Gas close at 3 p.m. Evening classes on the Scranton campus and at the Hazleton Center will end at 4 p.m. All evening courses, including Police Academy course, are cancelled.

Scranton Area Foundaton $12,500 grant aids sonography programs

Cardiac Sonography

The Sonography Programs at Lackawanna College are accredited by the Commission on Accreditation of Allied Health Education Programs (CAAHEP), 1361 Park Street, Clearwater, FL 33756. For details, visit www.caahep.org.

Each of Lackawanna College’s Sonography Programs is designed to be completed over a two-year period with day, evening, and Saturday courses as well as on- and off-campus clinical hours. Each program also includes summer session courses and clinical lab hours.

Acceptance into all Lackawanna College Sonography Programs is based on a selective admissions process with a maximum of 20 students selected annually for the Cardiac and Vascular Programs and 18 for the Diagnostic Medical Sonography Program.

Please note that not all applicants to the Sonography Program will be accepted. All candidates must follow the standard procedures outlined below and meet program qualifications to be considered for one of the openings each year.

Criteria and requirements

Application to Lackawanna College and a separate application to Sonography program

The application deadline for all Sonography Programs is March 1. All documents must be submitted or post marked by deadline to be considered.

Must meet the college’s minimum requirements

Applicant must submit proof of high school or GED completion with official high school transcript or GED equivalent.

Lackawanna College will determine the applicant’s current academic ability based on a combination of following:

SAT or ACT test scores, if applicable

Recommended SAT scores: 470 Verbal and 470 Math.

Recommended ACT scores: 20 or higher in each relevant section.

Most scores are valid up to 3 years from test date.

College Transfer Credits

If transferring credits from another college/university, official college transcripts are required. Transfer credits must be at least 3.0 or greater to meet Sonography program academic standards.

Placement Test

Applicants without valid SAT/ACT scores and who have not previously earned college credits will be required to take the ACCUPLACER exam for determination of current academic ability. Applicants must achieve ‘College Ready’ scores in Reading, Writing, and Math to be considered qualified for one of the Sonography Programs.

Completion of a Biological Science course

If completed in high school, the course must be no more than 3 years old.

Completion of science-type course(s) at the high school or college level must again be evidenced in the form of an official high school or college transcript.

Due to the very specific nature of these degree programs, applicants with transfer credits may only transfer credits related to program core courses including the following:

Anatomy and Physiology I – 4 credits

Anatomy and Physiology II – 4 credits with lab (if taken within two years)

College Algebra

Computer Applications

College Writing

Effective Speaking

Introduction to Psychology

Medical Ethics (subject to review)

Medical Terminology (subject to review)

Transfer students with a B.S. Degree in Science may be considered for bypass of the Pre-Sonography semester, subject to review.

All other courses within the curriculum must be completed at Lackawanna College under the Sonography program.

Interviews will be scheduled for qualified Sonography program applicants who submit a fully completed application with all materials by previously stated deadline:

The top 25 applicants for Vascular and Cardiac

The top 20 applicants for DMS

Mandatory Informational Meeting will be required prior to start of the selected program.

Qualified students will be notified of the date and time upon selection into program. The meeting will review the Sonography Department’s policies and expectations. The meeting will also allow for question and answer session and tour of the Lackawanna College Sonography facilities.

Experience in the medical field; paid or volunteer. Minimum of 8 hours.

Degree information

Sonography (also known as ultrasound) is the use of sound waves to generate an image for the assessment and diagnosis of various medical conditions.

Cardiac Sonographers use special equipment to direct nonionizing, high frequency sound waves into areas of a patient’s body to visualize the heart and surrounding area. The equipment collects reflected echoes and forms an image that may be videotaped, transmitted or photographed for interpretation and diagnosis by a physician. Unlike most diagnostic imaging methods, sonography does not involve radiation, so harmful side effects and complications from repeated use are rarer for both the patient and the sonographer.

Cardiac Sonographers use ultrasound technology to examine the heart’s chambers, valves, and vessels. Images that are produced by using ultrasound are then reviewed by a physician for interpretation and diagnosis of heart abnormalities. In addition, Cardiac Sonographers may also choose to specialize in vascular technology. Lackawanna College offers a separate Vascular Technology Degree Program.

Job opportunities and salaries in the healthcare specialty of Echocardiography have been rising steadily over the last few years and the US Department of Labor predicts another 26 percent increase in the need for Echocardiographers by the year 2016. Cardiac Sonographers are ranked in the Top 10 Best Paid positions for associate degree careers. Further more, skilled Echo Technologists enjoy a rewarding career that balances high-tech expertise with compassionate care of the individual. By 2006, median annual income for U.S. Diagnostic Cardiac Sonographers rose to $57,160. The middle 50% earned between $48,890 and $67,670 per year. In 2006, Echocardiography salary range was from $40,960 to $77,520. Pretty impressive pay for a career that requires an average 18 months to 2 years of education!

Most Cardiac Sonographers are employed by hospitals and primary clinics, with the remainder working in the offices of physicians or in medical and diagnostic laboratories, including diagnostic imaging centers. Also on the rise, is contract and traveling Cardiac Sonographers.

Lackawanna College’s Cardiac Sonography Program combines classroom instruction with practical clinical externships at regional free standing and hospital-based sonography laboratories. Both career-specific and academic core courses are included. Students successfully completing the program are eligible to sit for the American Registry of Diagnostic Medical Sonographers (ARDMS) examinations and, thereafter, pursue an exciting career.

Sonography Degree Program classes are given days, nights and on weekends (based on the availability of the instructors). Clinical externships, however, must take place during the daytime. The Cardiac Sonography Program’s is presently on the path to accreditation by Committee on Accreditation of Allied Health Education Programs.

Timeline

March 1: Deadline for ApplicationWaiting lists are created in all three sonography programs, and additional seats may become available up until the start of the Fall semester. Please call the Admissions office at (570) 961-7814 for more information.

March 1-28: Application Review Period and Interviews

April 1: Program Acceptance Letters and Alternative Option Letters will be mailed to all applicants.

Acceptance Letter will indicate their status in the specific program of choice and will outline all requirements needed to solidify place on official list for that program.

June 1: Deadline for all accepted students to make commitment to program. All requirements will need
to be complete at that time *

Items for Official Placement into program*

$100 commitment fee

Official high school transcripts

Official college transcripts

SAT/ACT scores, if applicable

FAFSA

Alternative Option letters will explain to students that they are not denied from attending the college, but have not been accepted into one of the three Allied Health Sonography Programs. In this letter it will include suggested courses for candidate to complete to better qualify themselves for re-application in the future.

The selected candidates will be notified during the pre-semester of the due date and info for completing these requirements, then have until August 1 to obtain/complete the following requirements:

Featured Falcon

Danielle Priblo

Danielle Priblo

“I didn’t want to be on a huge campus where I didn’t know where I was going or know anyone. I walk through the hallways here, and I seem to know everyone.
”

Favorite Moment:

Learning she received the College’s Community Opportunity Scholarship. “I thought I was coming in for an interview. I was just nervous about what they were going to ask me… My mom was sitting next to me almost in tears. It was really such an honor.”

Lackawanna College

Lackawanna College is an accredited, private, non-profit educational institution providing opportunities for career and personal development within selected associate degree, certificate and continuing education programs.